Juan Lizarraga is a partner in the law firm of LaFleur & Laborde. Mr. Lizarraga received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University and a J.D. degree from Loyola University in New Orleans. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Louisiana and is a registered patent attorney admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Mr. Lizarraga is admitted to practice in the States of Louisiana and Texas as well as being admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana. He is a member of the Federal Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, and the American Society of Naval Engineers. He is Past Chair of the Intellectual Property Law Committee of the New Orleans Bar Association and past Chairman of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association. 

For almost twenty years Mr. Lizarraga has served as counsel to the Orleans Parish Communication District, the 911 emergency call agency in New Orleans. Prior to his law firm practice he worked as corporate counsel for a major offshore drilling contractor dealing with contracts and new construction of drilling rigs throughout the world.

Engineering Experience

Friede & Goldman, Senior Engineer/Contract Administrator, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1980 – 1983

Contract Administrator on behalf of naval architect for over 15 mobile offshore drilling rigs (total construction cost $1.2 billion) under construction in Korea, Taiwan, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Negotiated with rig owners on behalf of shipyards and naval architect. Managed communications and negotiations with regulatory agencies such as the United States Coast Guard, the American Bureau of Shipping, Det Norske Veritas, and Lloyd’s Register of Shipping.

Korkut Engineers, Inc., Vice President, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1966 – 1976

Managed naval architectural firm and practiced engineering in the design of offshore drilling rigs and marine vessels including marine propulsion systems, piping systems and HVAC.

Ocean Drilling & Exploration Company (ODECO), Barge Engineer, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1965 – 1966

Served aboard the semi-submersible drilling barge “Ocean Queen” in the Gulf of Mexico, responsible for calculating and maintaining vessel stability.